Detail

Toreros' Taj Mahal

U-T San Diego -- The year: 2006. USD’s baseball team opened the season hosting reigning national champion Texas. An elderly Longhorn fan stood at the bottom of old Cunningham Stadium and looked skyward.

Thirty-four rows to the top. No rail. Steep as an elevator shaft.

USD Athletic Director Ky Snyder spotted the man. Be it Snyder’s kindness or fear that the fan would suffer vertigo, tumble to his death and USD would be slapped with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, Snyder escorted the gentleman up the stairs.

Said Snyder, “(That climb) was disconcerting to a lot of people.”

The vertical drop, concrete slabs and metal seats are now history. Tonight at 7, with the Toreros facing crosstown rival San Diego State in both teams’ season opener, USD unveils Fowler Park, a $13.8 million, 1,700-seat, state-of-the-art facility.